The Parish of Chanctonbury

Over the last two years, the three parishes (Ashington, Washington and Wiston with Buncton) have been moving towards formally uniting as a single parish. This step will help the churches to work together more closely across the area, and be a powerful symbol of unity as we seek the Kingdom of God here in our land. We are delighted that the formal processes have all now been completed and have been approved by the Church Commissioners, the body that deals with matters such as this for the Church of England. We are celebrating that, as of 1 April, we formally became one parish – the Parish of Chanctonbury.

Nigel Baker – Washington

In the past, rivalry existed between the parishes who knew little of each other. It used to be said that the beating of the boundaries and the annual cricket match between Washington and Ashington would end in fighting!

The present flint built church in Washington has been here for approximately 1000 years.

Rectors have come and gone over the years, each with different styles and traditions, however, when Ven. Lionel Whatley came as Rector in 1999, he preached a relationship with God, rather than ritual.

There will be many administrative and legal advantages to being one parish. Unification will not only mean one PCC and one bank account, but also shared assets as well as shared challenges.As the concept of unification sinks in, sharing will become less relevant as the three become one.

Jesus prayed that we all might be one. The complete unity of all Christians may still be some way off, but there is holy significance in three parishes being one and one being three.

We have three different parishes, all one in Jesus, so that through the unification, the ground may be prepared for the Kingdom of God, the renewal of His church, and the fulfilment of His prayer: ‘May they be one’.

Harry Goring – Wiston

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, all three parishes were looked after by a delightful, rural-minded, traditional Rector, who had no paid staff and became overburdened with bureaucracy, paperwork and administration and running three parish church councils which had no contact with each other at all.

Coming together is never easy or straightforward, and the unification of the parishes could not have taken place unless the people were ready for it. From a management and administrative point of view, it makes sense to reduce a repetition of meetings, paperwork and engagements, to begin to activate ideas, resources and best practice.

The separate characteristics of the parishes remain and will always remain: Wiston will never be the same as Washington; Washington will never be the same as Ashington but boundaries, whether geographical or cultural, are no barrier to spiritual growth. If growth is taking place in one area, we need to position ourselves together to be able to access and receive that spirituality for the benefit of as wide an area as possible!

Successful unification means we have to have faith and a trust in those who are in leadership roles within the single parish, and to stand up and speak out if we have concerns at how things are going. Praying together is an essential part of this process. May His kingdom come!

Dr Gill Lewis – Ashington

When Peter and I moved down from Suffolk and joined Ashington church, only Ashington and Washington churches were in the group of local churches known as a Benefice. When Chris Maclay arrived as Rector, his heart firstly was for a united Benefice, and then for us eventually to become one parish. So the church wardens of all three churches started meeting together with Chris, and we soon felt very much at home together. That was the start of our journey to become one parish.

To me, unification means that we will be one family, working together to make joint decisions, learning to love and care for each other more and more. And fewer business meetings for the leaders of the church!!

God is a good Father, and the Father’s heart is for us to be family together. Family don’t always see things in the same way, and each person has different gifts. So each church will be special in it’s own way but with a common purpose to give worship to God, and to show His love to everyone. Our Father God delights when we support each other as family, and is able to bless the church and community so much more when we open our hearts in this way.

The separate characteristics of the parishes remain and will always remain: Wiston will never be the same as Washington; Washington will never be the same as Ashington but boundaries, whether geographical or cultural, are no barrier to spiritual growth. If growth is taking place in one area, we need to position ourselves together to be able to access and receive that spirituality for the benefit of as wide an area as possible!

Successful unification means we have to have faith and a trust in those who are in leadership roles within the single parish, and to stand up and speak out if we have concerns at how things are going. Praying together is an essential part of this process. May His kingdom come!